Louisville is one of my favorite cities in the U.S.A. – It has a bit of the southern charm, a bit of the college-town coolness, and a bit of the urban-ness without being too crowded or too big to browse around. I first visited the city in 2005, and have been going back there for concerts. But whenever I am there, I am as much interested in the new restaurants and cafes as in my performances. I used to frequent the Heine Brothers Coffee for espresso drinks and desserts, as well as Blue Dog Bakery for breads, North End Cafe for brunch, and Dakshin for Indian food.

The most recent visit was in October 2012, and a friend of mine who is a coffee afficionado told me about the new cafe in L-ville: Quill’s. Quill’s has 2 locations in Louisville and 1 location in New Albany, Indiana. I visited the Cardinal Blvd. location near U of L and the one in New Albany.

They only focus on the coffee – meaning, not a lot of other drink options or baked items. I like the industrial look and the spaciousness of both locations. Coffee tasted better at the Cardinal location, though. They have something that has a bit more milk than the traditional macchiato, and it was velvety+sweet with just right amount of acidity and deep flavor.. but I forget the name!

I liked the drink above better than the traditional macchiato.

They roast their coffee beans in-house. They also have nice selection of beans and coffee related merchandise items on their website at https://quillscoffeeco.squarespace.com.

There were other cafes I visited – Sunergo was nice, but I prefer the flavor and the texture of Quill’s more. (Also the atmosphere is different: Sunergo is a bit more hippy and free/ Quill’s is more urban and cool.)

I didn’t care too much for Vint, though. The store felt not too clean or friendly and the espresso macchiato tasted a bit burned and too dark for my taste.

Next time I visit Louisville, I will check out the Java Brewing Company and La Grange coffee. I hope the good stuff keeps coming in Louisville!